Portable laundry basket



1966 B. J. BAUMILLER, JR 3,235,212

PORTABLE LAUNDRY BASKET Filed March 5, 1965 FIG.6.

IN VENTOR.

BERNARD J. BAUMILLER JR.

United States Patent 3,235,212 PORTABLE LAUNDRY BASKET Bernard J.Baumiller, Jr., 116 Tenhury Road, Lutherville, Md. Filed Mar. 5, 1963,Ser. No. 263,031 4 Claims. (Cl. 24S142) This invention relates ingeneral to article handling apparatus and more specifically to apparatusin the general form of a clothes basket for collecting wet, damp, or dryclothes from an industrial type laundry machine or Washer for transferto other types of machines as used in commercial laundries.

In the type of laundry machines to which the present is an especiallyuseful adjunct, the articles to be collected for transfer are deliveredby gravity from a machine at a level in close proximity to the floorinto a convenient type container. When said container is filled, it iseither manually emptied or this container is carried to another machineor operation and upended to dump the contents. The labor involved inreaching up over the side of the container and then down into the sameto lift out the articles, and the subsequent bending and sto-oping totransfer the articles from the laundry machine or washer to the othermachine, and the labor involved in manually lifting and carrying thecontainer from place to place, the upending the container and returningit to the former location is extremely arduous, dangerous, timeconsuming, and costly, necessitating frequent relief for the operator.Additionally, the foregoing operations establish a specific requirementfor labor having certain muscular and physical qualifications.

The principal object of this invention therefore is to provide apparatusthat minimizes manual effort as heretofore usually associated with theacts of collecting and transferring hot, wet, damp, or dry materialsfrom one type of industrial machine such as a washing machine to anothertype such as a mangle.

A further object is to provide a laundry basket apparatus which isadjustable -to accommodate collecting discharge level conditions withvarious types of industrial or commercial laundry machines, whereby theoperator is not required to manually lift the loaded container.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a laundrybasket apparatus which is portable or which can be permanently aihxed toa floor or wall.

More particularly, the present invention provides for the objectsaforesaid an upwardly open container mounted for rotation between ayoke, with the axis of rotation being established by bearings which arepositioned eccentric with respect to the centerline of the container,whereby the container obtains free gravity movement in one direction ofrotation. Thus, the container can be brought into a position for fillingthe same and can be rotated in the opposite direction into a differentposition for ease of emptying the same. The yoke is provided with asupport mounted on a portable base, with the support being verticallyadjustable to alter the level above the base at which the container isheld. Limiting means are provided to limit the extent of free gravitymovement of the container to a predetermined position. Restraining meansare provided to restrain the container against free gravity movementprior to limitation by the limiting means. Manually operated means areprovided for rotating the container in the opposite direction. Means arealso provided for releasing the restraining means so that the containerrotates by gravity from a position set by the manually operated means.Also, the present invention provides for the elevation of the containerrelative to the base without requiring a corresponding adjustment of thelimiting and restraining means, for coaction at the various levels towhich the container may be adjusted.

The invention will be better understood by reference to the descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of portable basket apparatus for collectingand transfer of dry, wet or damp articles in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the basket restraining means;

MG. 5 is a view illustrating a modified. form of the apparatus shown inFIG. 1; and

PEG. 6 is a view illustrating another modified form of the apparatusshown in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, an open top basket or container ll) isprovided on two opposite sides 11 thereof with trunnions 12eccentrically positioned with respect to the centerline of rotation ofthe container to provide free gravity movement thereof in one directionabout the eccentric axis established by said trunnions, The trunnions 12are mounted for rotation in oppositely disposed bearings 13, and amanually operable hand lever 14 is connected with the basket orcontainer through one of the trunnions 12 to provide contra-gravityrotation of the container.

For movement of the container from one machine to another, the bearings13 are mounted in two oppositely disposed upwardly extending arms 15 ofa yoke 16. The yoke is centrally supported by a vertical pedestal 17mounted on a portable base 18. To change the height of the container Illabove the base 18, the pedestal 17 is vertically adjustable by having asection 19 movable to telescope over a narrower section 20. The sections19 and 2d are apertured and a pin 21 is provided for extending throughcorresponding apertures for fixing the sections 19 and in theirvertically adjusted relationship.

To limit the extent of free gravity movement of the container 10 aroundits eccentric axis of rotation established by the trunnions l2 and 13, acontainer limit means in the form of a stop member 24 is mounted on thehorizontal arm of the yoke 16 to engage or abut the container Ill} andthus halt the free gravity rotation thereof when its forward edge 25reaches a predetermined level, such as the level at which the entireopen top portion of the container 10 is in a horizontal plane. Adifferent level for the forward edge 25 may be established by adiiferent setting of the stop member 24.

The container ltl can be rotated by the operating lever 14 in theopposite direction from the direction of free gravity movement to lowerthe level of the rearward edge 22 for ease in transfer of its contentsto another machine such as a mangle machine, not shown. Upon release ofthe lever 14, the container 1d tends to return under its own gravity,thus necessitating manual holding of the container 10 or the operatinglever 14 while at the same time transferring its contents to the mangle.Accordingly, there is instead provided means 26 for restraining themovement of the container 1% against its normal gravity movement after apredetermined counter rotation via the lever 14. Advantageously, thismeans 26 takes the form of an apertured wear block 27 mounted on theside 11 of the container 10 and a spring loaded pin 28 extending from abracket 29 which is fastened to an arm 15 of the yoke 16. The pin 28 islocated out of the path of the handle 14 so that each is readilyacessible for operation. The pin 28 projects through the bracket 29 andterminates in a handle 30 which serves to release the pin 28 fromengagement with the apertures in the Wear block 27. The wear block 27and pin 28 are set to maintain predetermined degrees of counter gravitymovement of the container 10. The maximum degree of such movement isdetermined by the point at which the pin 28 rides off the surface of thewear block 27 to engage its end. This prevents rotation by gravity ofthe container until the handle 30 of the pin 28 is operated manually byan attendant in control of the process of transfer of the articles fromthe container.

The container 10 can be raised and lowered to meet diflerent levelrequirements without altering the limiting means 24 or the restrainingmeans 26 simply by moving the section 19 of the pedestal 17 towards oraway from the base 18 and then by insertion of the pin 21 throughcorresponding apertures in the sections 19 and 28.

The operation of the apparatus as above described will be readilyapparent from the foregoing description. In general, the restrainingmeans 26 is set to hold the container 10 in the rotative position whichis best for either manual removal of articles from the container, or forupending or dumping them from the container. The limitin means 24 is setto have the container 10 always return to the same level which issuitable for collection or receiving articles by gravity flow thereto.The height of the container in any of the positions determined by therestrainw ing means 26, the limiting means 24, or by the lever 14 isadjustable by adjusting the height of the vertical pedestal 17.

The laundry basket apparatus is transported from place to place at willand when set in position for collection of articles, the handle 30 isretracted to permit the container 10 to rotate to the proper positionfor collection as from a washer for example. For transfer of articlesfrom the container, the lever 14 is depressed until the pin 28 rides ofithe surface of the wear plate 27 onto its end 32. The rearward edge ofthe container is thus held at its desired lower level for removal of itscontents, or if desired, the lever 14 is depressed until the container10 is up-ended for dumping. Thereafter, the handle 39 is retracted topermit the container to gravitate to its normal level for filling.

Instead of manual operation of the handle 30, it may be operatedsemi-automatically by a foot pedal 36 operated lever arrangement asshown in FIG. 6. Likewise, the lever 14 may be pneumatically operated bya pneumatic cylinder 38 and lever system 40 as shown in FIG. 5. Thegeometrical shape of the container can be rectilinear peripherallyshaped and provided with a spherical bottom, or the container can becantilever suspended from a single eccentri trunnion, or the containercan be of dififerent materials with an easily detachable bottom formaintenance reasons, or a number of levers 14 can be provided tomanually rotate the container contra-gravitationally. Additionally, adetented arrangement of a universal joint may be substituted in thecolumnar construction of the main pedestal for supporting the containerto adapt the A container for multi-positional use.

The invention as heretofore set forth may be variously embodied withinthe scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Portable laundry basket apparatus comprising a container, bearingmeans eccentrically mounting said container for rotation, with theeccentric axis of rotation of said container as defined by said bearingmeans being laterally offset from the center of gravity of saidcontainer and adjacent the top of said container, whereby 41 when saidcontainer is titled in the direction from said center of gravity towardssaid eccentric axis of rotation and is filled with laundry saidcontainer rotates by gravity in the opposite direction, a portable base,vertically adpustable supporting means mounted on said portable base forsupporting said bearing means, means for fixing the supporting means inits vertically adjusted position, limiting means for limiting the extentof rotation of said container in said opposite direction, means fortilting said container in the first mentioned direction, restrainngmeans for restraning said contaner in the desired tilted position insaid first mentioned direction, and means for effecting the release ofsaid restraining means, whereby said container rotates by gravity insaid opposite direction.

2. The laundry basket apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein saidlimiting means and said restraining means are mounted on said supportingmeans.

3. The laundry basket apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein saidlimiting means positions said container horizontally upon rotationthereof in said one direction, and said restraining means positions saidcontainer at least 45 degrees from the horizontal position upon rotationof said container in said opposite direction.

4. Portable laundry basket apparatus comprising a base, a verticallyadjustable pedestal mounted on said base and having means for fixingsaid pedestal in the vertically adjusted position desired, a container,a yoke centrally mounted on the upper end of said pedestal and havingtwo oppositely spaced upwardly extending arms, bearing means mounted oneach said arms for rotatably supporting said container on an eccentricaxis within said yoke, with said eccentric axis being laterally offsetfrom the center of gravity of said container and adjacent the topthereof, whereby when said container is tilted in the direction fromsaid center of gravity towards said eccentric axis and is filled withlaundry said container rotates by gravity in the opposite direction,limiting means mounted to said yoke for abutting the bottom of saidcontainer for limiting the extent of gravity rotation of said containerin said opposite direction, means for tilting said container in thefirst mentioned direction, and releasable restraining means forrestraining said container in the desired tilted position in said firstmentioned direction.

Refierences Qitetl by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 364,351 6/1887Ingraham et al. 248141 637,738 11/1899 Ludwig 248-440 996,658 7/1911Minor 248-142 1,064,939 6/1913 Sunkler 248-442 1,348,134 7/1920Barnstead 248-134 1,515,601 11/1924 Kuhn 248142 1,535,698 4/1925 Swanson248142 1,627,490 5/1937 Disibio 248-l42 2,129,394 9/1938 Allen 214-3 142,448,300 8/1948 Eaddy 280-34 2,505,723 4/1950 Rees 248-142 2,665,0981/1954 Oden 24S-137 CLAUDE A. LEROY, Primary Examiner.

1. PORTABLE LAUNDRY BASKET APPARATUS COMPRISING A CONTAINER, BEARINGMEANS ECCENTRICALLY MOUNTING SAID CONTAINER FOR ROTATION, WITH THEECCENTRIC AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID CONTAINER AS DEFINED BY SAID BEARINGMEANS BEING LATERALLY OFFSET FROM THE CENTER OF GRAVITY OF SAIDCONTAINER AND ADJACENT TO TOP OF SAID CONTAINER, WHEREBY WHEN SAIDCONTAINER IS TITLED IN THE DIRECTION FROM SAID CENTER OF GRAVITY TOWARDSSAID ECCENTRIC AXIS OF ROTATION AND IS FILLED WITH LAUNDRY SAIDCONTAINER ROTATES BY GRAVITY IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, A PORTABLE BASE,VERTICALLY ADPUSTABLE SUPPORTING SAID BEARING MOUNTED ON SAID PORTABLEBASE FOR SUPPORTING SAID BEARING MEANS, MEANS FOR FIXING THE SUPPORTINGMEANS IN ITS VERTICALLY ADJUSTED POSITION, LIMITING MEANS FOR LIMITINGTHE EXTENT OF ROTATION OF SAID CONTAINER IN SAID OPPOSITE DIRECTION,MEANS FOR TILTING SAID CONTAINER IN THE FIRST MENTIONED DIRECTION,RESTRAINING MEANS FOR RESTRANING SAID CONTANER IN THE DESIRED TILTEDPOSITION IN SAID FIRST MENTIONED DIRECTION, AND MEANS FOR EFFECTING THERELEASE OF SAID RESTRAINING MEANS, WHEREBY SAID CONTAINER ROTATES BYGRAVITY IN SAID OPPOSITE DIRECTION.